LibriVox recording of
Behind a Mask by Louisa May Alcott. Read by Elizabeth Klett.
Fans of Louisa May Alcott's Little Women will remember that her heroine Jo wrote racy novels before turning her hand to more "serious" literature. Alcott, writing under the pseudonym A. M. Barnard, often did the same, and Behind a Mask (1866) is one of her sensation novels. It focuses on Jean Muir, who enters the home of the wealthy Coventry family as governess to their sixteen-year-old daughter. But is the beguiling Miss Muir all that she seems to be? (Introduction by Elizabeth Klett)
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M4B Audiobook (118MB)
Reviewer:
glttrgrl8
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January 20, 2015
Subject:
Who can resist a story about a mysterious and beguiling young governess?
Behind a Mask, or a Woman's Power is a perfect example of the "sensation" fiction of its time (the bawdy bestsellers)! As always, Alcott's writing and plotting are exemplary, and the sensational twists and turns of the story kept me interested throughout. To make it even better, the narration by Elizabeth Klett is professional grade! I very much enjoyed her interpretation of this story as well as several others she's recorded for LibriVox.
Reviewer:
TheBookworm
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October 9, 2011
Subject:
Behind a Mask
Who is Jean Muir? You can almost hear the Victorian ladies gasp as the truth begins to emerge from behind the pretence...
Neither family nor servant, the governess was an intriguingly liminal character in 19th-century society and literature (Jane Eyre, East Lynne, Turn of the Screw, etc.). Is Jean the villain or something else? The author hints at her own appraisal in the final chapter.
This 'sensation novel' is well worth a listen for its own sake, but doubly so for Elizabeth Klett's voice talent.
TheBookworm (temporarily in Newcastle, UK)